At the right place at the right time

We seemed to be always at a country for some historical event...dh made this comment. Well, I must agree.

Last year, in USA, we were there to witness the historical US presidential election where the first black president of United States was elected.

This year, we are in China where she celebrates her 60th National Day. A grand occasion and a historical one for her people. This National Day is also special as it clashes with the mid-autumn festival so we have an 8 days holiday break! We made use of this time to rest and relax as a family.



The grand celebration at Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Understand that the celebration will carry on for the next three days!

Shanghai Siew Mai

This was what I made. Have seen it at the hotel where we were staying when we first came. It looked weird then because we were so used to seeing meat in siew mai and not sticky rice. Now, I know that these are actually Shanghainese siew mai.


These were hand-made siew mai skin done by yours truly. Not too bad, it wasn't easy but still it can be done. Before steaming...


After steaming

After the sinful, comes the healthy feed

One thing about the bread in Shanghai, you must eat them fresh, the same day you bought it. But I find that a bit difficult because I usually have the habit of "buying for tomorrow's breakfast". Instead of eating hard bread, I have resorted to making my own.


Banana wheat (no yeast) bread

When in Shanghai, eat as the Shanghainese eat!

Seafood galore!

2 months of living in Shanghai and encountering various 'shocks', I think I was ready to step into their local wet market. (We cannot possibly be living on imported goods throughout our stay here) After garnering all the courage I have, I walked right into a wet market... I was blown away by what I saw.


Inside the wet market...it was drier than some of our wet makets.

Shanghai is famous for its hairy crabs and the best ones are from Yang Chen Hu.


Choosing the crabs, I had Zhou xian sheng to give me some tips on how to choose. The lady was very honest, every crab's weight was shown to me, I didn't feel it was necessary but she insisted. I told her I was going to take her picture, she was so shy about it...


Each crab was then given a good scrub and lastly, skilfully tied up. You and I would probably take half an hour to tie each crab. She did it in seconds!


There you have it. Great job!


You won't believe how much the abalone cost...............S$2/-(about the size of a Chinese pear) and bamboo clams only S$2 for this lot.

And now, presenting the delicious and mouth-watering Shanghainese hairy crabs....



Yes, yes...high cholesterol. But we cannot go through life fearing everything we put into our mouths...eat in moderation

You decide how you want to lead your life

Now for all of you out there who think that it is such a wonderful thing to be an expat. Everything provided for...house, car, school, helper etc... While your kids are in school, husbands at work, expat wives would gather together for high-tea, manicure, pedicure, facial, shopping...all the pleasures of life. Well, let me give you the reality of it all. Life is not always what you think it is.

I was reading a magazine on expat wives and one of the "illnesses" which expat wives suffer from is agoraphobia. It is a condition of anxiety disorder brought about by the fear of being in a situation from which a person has little or no means of removing themselves. Afraid of panic attacks in public settings, sufferers often avoid public places and in extreme cases, prefers being trapped in the discomfort of their comfort zone. (Cityweekend - Parents & Kids Aug 6 to Oct 7)

In one case, one wife actually kept herself in her home once her kids and her husband have left for school and work respectively. For the time she was in Shanghai, life was very much like that. The tough ones, went throught it, the weaker ones would crumble in. Her relief came about only when her husband was posted out of Shanghai and to...SINGAPORE!

Being able to speak both Chinese and English is really to my advantage. I had no problem with communication in the States and now here in Shanghai. The only problem was to gather enough courage to put my toes into the life of a Shanghainese...and I finally did!

These were what I did at my class this week...


Steamed chocolate bun and spring onion bun. One sweet and one savory


Rice wine rice ball dumplings

...and on my own, using what I have learned, I made char siew bao for Kai. One of his favourite dim sum.


Not bad for a beginner

Are you sure this is Shanghai, China?



Yes, this is indeed Shanghai, China. This place is called Xintiandi. Direct translation - A new place. A pretty commercialised place but it has its charm and character.

Found this beautiful poster in Xintiandi...


God was right...right from the beginning He said..."it is no good for man to be alone"

World's smallest water melon?


Even wee little Ann could hold it up!

I cycle, you cycle, they all cycle

One of the most popular mode of transportation in Shanghai is cycling. In fact, I find it quite a beautiful sight to see many cyclists on the streets. Bicycles or motorcycles, many like to ride on it. In fact, it is commom to see even three people on a motorbike. Many foreigners have also picked up the habit. I have seen an English woman cycling two of her kids to their nearby school.

In America, I had to brush up my driving skills and here...my cycling skills.



A sea of cyclists


When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

250rmb, never again

One thing about living in another country is that we must always approach eveything with an open mind. Try to understand how others live, try to understand what a small deal to us can be a big deal to others.

Just the other day, we went to a shop to get some things done. The owner was a nice man and he gave us a price for the things which we wanted. Like all prudent buyers, we always try to get a good price. We tried to bargain with him and offered 250rmb for the item. He immediately rejected the price and asked us to settle for 260rmb. He said that he wasn't concerned with the extra 10rmb it was just for the good of his business, you know, like an auspicious number. We agreed thinking that perhaps, 260rmb was a good number for him.

Later when we checked with our friend who helped us get around, he told us that 250rmb was referring to someone stupid!

Gosh...we were surprised but it taught us that in every country, there are different values, different cultures and different beliefs. We do not have to follow everything they do but we sure have to respect them.